Group Asks Tinubu To Use Ondo Model ln Rivers’ Crisis

A group, Vanguard for Transparent Leadership and Democracy (VATLAD) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to replicate his approach in the political crisis in Ondo State in Rivers State.

The national president of VATLAD, Engr Igbini Emmanuel, urged chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to resolve the political disagreement between former governor Nyesom Wike and his political son, Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

He said it was a rude shock and disappointment for the National Executive Council (NEC) of the PDP to be more interested in declaring the seats of the 27 defected legislators vacant and asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately conduct by-elections to fill them.

Emmanuel said, "Rather than intervene to help resolve the minor political disagreement for the overriding interest of the good and united people of Rivers State and continued peace and progress of the state, the NEC of PDP would rather call for by-election.

"Is this what they seek to reenact in Rivers State to have Governor Fubara run the affairs of the state without the legislators or with only four or five legislators out of the total of 32 legislators?

"Nigerians must not allow PDP to reenact such in Rivers State and any part of Nigeria as such constitutes the worst threat to our constitutional democracy, good government, order and peace.

"If I may ask; are these not the same chieftains and members of the NEC of PDP who supported and approved of the worst form of disregard and desecration of our 1999 Nigerian constitution, as amended, when from June 2019 to June 2023, Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State chased away majority of elected members of Edo State House of Assembly and ran the affairs of the state without constitutionally recognized members of the House of Assembly?" Emmanuel asked.

Varsity Gets 65 New Professors

University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) has promoted 42 senior academics to the rank of professors and 23 others to associate professors.

UNIPORT’s public relations officer, Dr Sam Kpenu, said in a statement in Port Harcourt yesterday that the new professors passed through stringent selection criteria set up by the university.

“The promotions followed approval by the Minister of Education on December 8.

“The academics were promoted following the recommendations of the Central A & PC Academic meeting of UNIPORT held on November 23.

“The university hereby announces the promotion of 42 staff nominated as Professors of their various disciplines and 23 others as Associate Professors (Readers),” he said.

A breakdown of the promotion showed the professors’ category has 10 new professors from the Faculty of Education; Faculty of Science got 10, Faculty of Humanities, eight, College of Health Sciences, eight; Faculty of Agriculture, three; Faculty of Engineering, one; Faculty of Social Science, one, and Faculty of Management Sciences, one new professor.

In the associate professor (Readers’) category, the Faculty of Education produced seven new readers; Faculty of Humanities, five, and Faculty of Science, three.

Others are Faculty of Engineering, two; Faculty of Science, two; College of Health Sciences, two; Faculty of Agriculture, one and Faculty of Computing, one. (NAN)